Anatomy of Type

barb terminal Cap Height X - Height shoulder stem dot beak arm Character Width ascender stress bowl eye, counter

Baseline

Gabriela Tudosie
counter bar bowl finial Serif spine throat Barb, definition: similar to but generally smaller than a serif or beak, a spur is a small bit at the end of certain curved portions of a letterform such as the end(s) of a C or S or the middle of G. Also Known As: serif | barb | cat's ear

I have typed my name in InDesign using Times New Roman fornt, 100pt on an A4 landscape page. I added the baseline, x-height and cap height to my text. Then I started to label all typographic elements that I could see within my text. Any elements included within the help sheet that are not present in my text I put them at the bottom of my page and wrote a brief explanation of each to show my understanding and for future reference. I also added them in red colour to my typed name above. - barb, counter (for G letter) - terminal (for a) - eye, throat, bar (for e) - arm, beak (for T) - bowl (for o) - spine (for s) - dot (for i)

Counter In typography, the enclosed or partially enclosed circular or curved negative space (white space) of some letters such as d, o, and s is the counter. The term counter may sometimes be used to refer only to closed space, while partially enclosed spaces in m, n, or h are the aperture. The shape and size of the counter and bowl (curved stroke enclosing the counter) can affect readability and is also an identifying factor for some typefaces. Also Known As: aperture | inner space | enclosed space Examples: Fonts with very small or thin counters may not reproduce well at very small font sizes. Depending on the size and the printing method the counters may close up (fill with ink). Terminal Definition: In typography, the terminal is a type of curve. Many sources consider a terminal to be just the end (straight or curved) of any stroke that doesnt include a serif (which can include serif fonts, such as the little stroke at the end of n as shown in the illustration). Some curved bits of tails, links, ears, and loops are considered terminals using the broader definition (see the Microsoft Typography site for further explanation). Ball terminal is a combination of a dot (tail dot) or circular stroke and the curved bit (hook) at the end of some tails and the end of some arms (a, c, f). Beak terminal refers to the sharp spur or beak at the end of a letterforms arm and the curved bit (terminal) between the beak and the arm. Eye Definition: Much like a counter, the eye refers specifically to the enclosed space in a lowercase e. Also Known As: counter Examples: At very small sizes the eye of some fonts could fill with ink making the letter e appear as a c or blob of ink.

Anatomy of Type

Crossbar Definition: The (usually) horizontal stroke across the middle of uppercase A and H is a crossbar. The horizontal or sloping stroke enclosing the bottom of the eye of an e is also a crossbar. Although often used interchangeably, the crossbar differs from an arm and a cross stroke because each end connects to a stem or stroke and doesnt (usually) intersect/cross over the stem or stroke. The varying positioning, thickness, and slope of the bar is an identifying feature of many type designs. Also Known As: bar, arm, cross stroke Alternate Spellings: cross bar (two words) Examples: The cross bar connects the diagonal strokes of an uppercase A or the vertical stems of an H. In contrast, the cross stroke intersects the stem of a lowercase t or f while the arms of an uppercase F connect to the stem only at one end. Type Anatomy Terms Related to Crossbar - Arm - Cross Stroke - Stem Arm Definition: The arm of a letter is the horizontal stroke on some characters that does not connect to a stroke or stem at one or both ends. The top of the capital T and the horizontal strokes of the F and E are examples of arms. Additionally, the diagonal upward stroke on a K is its arm. Sometimes arm is used interchangeably with bar or crossbar or cross stroke. Arm is often also used to describe the mostly horizontal top stroke of C, double-storey a, G, and other glyphs, to include the finial, terminal, spur, or other elements of the stroke. Also Known As: crossbar, cross stroke Examples: The arms of an uppercase F connect to the stem only at one end and the arm of an uppercase T sits at the top of the stem and doesnt connect at either end. In contrast a cross stroke intersects the stem of a lowercase t or f and the cross bar connects the diagonal strokes of an uppercase A or the vertical stems of an H.

Anatomy of Type

Type Anatomy Terms Related to Arm - Crossbar - Cross Stroke - Stem